Thomas Smith
Background information regarding the Synad race: Synads are a race of aberrations from the Complete Psionic book. They originate from a parallel world accessible through the plane of shadow, and those who have found their way to the material plane prefer to forget their homeland, claiming that monstrosities of the mind roam there unhindered. Synads look like tall, thin, pale skiined humans with bald heads, dark eyes, and long expressive fingers. In dim light, however, an observer may notice out of the corner of the eye when viewing a synad depleted of power points, two ghostly, featureless humanoid heads floating above the synads shoulders. Synad minds are actually hive minds composed of three distinct and fully independent minds fused into one body. One mind is usually dominant, but others may come to the forefront on occassion History of "Thomas Smith": Originally hailing from another dimension, "Tom" escaped with a group of other synads through a temporary portal into the astral plane. This group soon came to enjoy the peace of their new surroundings and founded a small community on one of the rare floating astral islands. There they lived largely unmolested for several years. Eventually, this community was discovered by a githyanki warband. Greatly outnumbered, the synads were slaughtered, with few survivors captured and even fewer escaping into the void of the astral plane. "Tom" was one of those escappees. Ashamed of his cowardice, but unwilling to return alone to fight the githyanki warband, "Tom" eventually drifted through a color pool and onto the material plane, into an alley of the Faerunian city of Waterdeep. Amazed at the diversity of life to be found there, "Tom" assumed a human identity and passed himself off as a traveller new to the city. He selected a name to blend in with his new neighbors and has not used his true name since. With no profitable skills beyond his swordsmanship, "Tom" eventually found himself joining the Waterdhavian army. His unique abilities and odd behavior landed him an assignment in the Crimson Eagles. After the githyanki invasion, "Tom" swore he would never again run from a githyanki. He has since honed his knowledge of the invaders and used that knowledge to find mroe and more creative ways to spill their blood. While openly friendly to those around him and always eager to make friends and learn more about the beings he shares his new homeland with, "Tom's" behavior is often offputing to others. His compatriots in the Crimson Eagles share the belief that he is not only something or someone other than he lets on, but that he is also utterly insane. He can often be heard talking to himself under his breath, holding two or even three parts of a conversation. When talking to others, his speech paterns and inflections change from one conversation to the next. Sometimes, he will stop mid-sentence and argue with himself about the topic at hand. Despite these obvious mental flaws, "Thomas Smith" performs well as a soldier and has proven himself to his swordmates and supiriors on more than one occassion. While no one wants to see him in a position of authority or leadership, all who have fought with him are glad to have his sword beside them on the battlefield. Missions Operation Valkrye: Tom was with the team sent behind enemy lines in order to gather intelligence on the githyanki forces in and around Baldur's gate Category:Desperate Men Category:NPCs